We’re in Santa Clara, California

 

11/25/13   Lorraine’s report

Hello from Santa Clara, CA.  Yes, we made it to where our daughter, Susy and Kaitlyn, our granddaughter live.  You can bet I was happy to see them!  It was wonderful to see my girls after being away from them since Mother's Day, even though they flew out to visit us over the 4th of July in Minneapolis, MN. 

So last week we spent a wonderful time with Joe and Alice.  We went to buffets, spent time visiting and went to a movie, where I got a bit sea sick from the movie-saw Captain Phillips. That was one intense movie!  And by Tuesday, we were getting on the road, a day early again-- weather concerns.-they predicted heavy rains which did happen, but after we got in.. 

We were lucky and made it all the way into our spot here in Santa Clara Elks Lodge before the rain.  We were setting up when the rains hit; and boy did it hit hard.  It poured outside, cats & dogs. 

After setting up, we went to get Kaitlyn from her school. and we couldn't find her coat her Mommy sent her to school with.  She just had to run like crazy to get to the car because of all the heavy rain.  She was just as excited to see us as I was to see her. 

Since then we have picked her up after school, even though we have scheduled doctor appointment, me with my doctors, and Chuck with his at the VA.   And as usual we have spent the days with Kaitlyn. 

She wanted Nana's Mac & Cheese as soon as she got to the rig.  We  had that with Nana's pork steak.  She was one happy camper, this is her favorite. 

Friday night Kaitlyn wanted to spend the night, and after her daddy left, I got a migraine, but that didn't stop me from having her spend the night.   We had a lot of fun, and we both slept pretty good. 

Saturday, Kaitlyn had her Brownies, (part of the Girl Scouts) and Susy & I had some shopping to do.  We took off to Gilroy, CA.  Rick, my son, needed some things from the Outlet Mall, so off we went.  It was a nice day, and Susy & I enjoyed our time together! 

Yesterday, Chuck & I went over to Susy's to wrap what we found for them for Christmas.  We had another nice time together.  I took food and we had Roast Beef with carrots, celery, potatoes, onions and green beans; and Mike brought some rolls, which were delicious. Seems like we enjoy just being together!

Today we need to get Rick's packages into the mail.  Not sure what we'll do after that, except to get Kaitlyn after school. 

On the 30th is John's birthday, Happy Birthday, John!  I think that is it for now.  We hope everyone enjoys a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Till next time, Hugs to all,

Lorraine

 

11/25/13                                                                                                                                    Chuck’s report

We are back with our daughter and grand daughter, we left here the day after Mother’s day last May and since then traveled to the East Coast and back.  Sure was a good trip, we saw lots of this great country, marked some things off our bucket list, met with old friends, made new friends and enjoyed being together.  We didn’t have this big of a trip planned when we left here, our plans only included going to my mother’s side family reunion in Minnesota in June.  Once we made it that far, Lorraine commented we were already about 2/3 of the way across the nation and suggested we attempt to see the NE part of the US and hopefully during the fall tree colors. 

It was a work in progress as we traveled the rest of the way, I had a rough idea of places and times and we were able to fill the remaining sections just fine.  We were able to see both the Professional Baseball and the Football Hall of Fame for example. 

And we managed to be in Vermont and New Hampshire at the peak “leaf peeping” time.  We had mostly good weather while we were back there, of course there was some rain and bad days but overall it was a very good summer/fall.  I think this trip compares to the trip we made to Alaska five years ago, probably about the same mileage and time on the road from start to finish.  We had never been to the NE and decided we really liked some of the area, probably not enough to live there due to the winters but enough that we will probably return again someday. 

Ok, now for our life this past week.  After posting our blog last Sunday, we picked up Joe and Alice and headed out to the brunch buffet at the Riverside casino.  This is sure a good one, we usually try to get there at least once every time we are are in Laughlin. 

After our brunch, we headed to the Loser’s Lounge where they have a bunch of TVs, showing all the NFL games.  We were there to watch the Seahawks play, unfortunately, they weren’t on any of the big screens, that was saved for the 49ers and Green Bay games, shoot.  But we were able to watch the Seahawks win their game, they are having a great season.

Monday the gals wanted to take in a movie so we went to see Captain Phillips, about the cargo ship that was captured by the Somali pirates.  He ended up being taken hostage and held for ransom.  It was a very intense movie, especially the last 30 minutes or so. 

After the movie, we headed to the Tropicana to try our luck on the slots for awhile.  After a bit, we headed back to the Riverside where we had dinner.  This was our last night in Laughlin, once again we both commented how we like it better than Las Vegas, less hustle and bustle for sure.  We sure had a great time with Joe and Alice too and to top it off, I think both Lorraine and I were able to come out ahead on our slot play. 

Tuesday we got everything loaded up, Joe and Alice came by to see us and away we went.  When we leave Laughlin headed for here, we usually overnight at Bakersfield but this time we decided to push on to a place we knew about a couple hours further down the road.  We had to make a stop for fuel, our usual stop is the Flying J just North of Bakersfield so we headed there first.  Boy, what a zoo at the truck stop, our usual fuel stop is less than 1/2 hour, this time we were there for over an hour.  We use the truck pumps and this time the the drivers were leaving their trucks to go inside even while they were in line waiting to get to the pumps.  Usually they move ahead after fueling so the next truck can start while they go inside to pay but this time they weren’t even doing that.  I talked with one of the drivers who was fueling up and he said this place has really gotten bad, it is over crowded and filled with surly drivers most of the time.  We may have to find a different place to get fuel if we have more experiences like this one. 

By the time we got back on the road, we could tell it would be after dark before we got to our planned stop for the night.  But there just aren’t too many campgrounds along this stretch so we pushed on.  Sure enough, it was dark by the time we stopped and set up.  Seeing as how we were only going to be here overnight, we didn’t put everything out.  But because we don’t have sewer service at the Elks here, I wanted to be sure our tanks were flushed and empty so I did need to hook up water, sewer and power. 

The forecast since we left Laughlin had been for rain, it started that night.  Next morning, it was cloudy but not raining, the forecast was for heavy rains along the way.  We got everything ready for travel, especially got the holding tanks flushed well and headed out.  Once again, I must comment on the horrible road conditions here in California, I sure don’t know where they are spending all the road tax moneys they get but they sure should be spending it on road repair, in my estimation anyway. 

Three times we had a some rain sprinkles on the windshield but didn’t hit any rain.  We thought we would hit rain for sure as we traveled over the mountains but even there all we had was heavy clouds and wind.   As we came down the hills, the clouds got even heavier and more threatening but still no rain, yea.  We made it to the Elks, unhooked the car and backed into our site and then it started raining, whew, just in time.  It rained pretty hard for most of the afternoon but we got set up then drove over to pick up our grand daughter from school and spent most of the time indoors so it wasn’t a big thing. 

Speaking of our grand daughter, we actually got here a day ahead of schedule so she wasn’t expecting us. She saw us when we got there and came running up yelling “Nana, Nana, you are early”.  Two of her teachers said they knew we were coming, she had been keeping everyone up to date on our schedule, ha. 

That evening Lorraine made a good dinner of pork steak and Katie’s favorite, mac and cheese.  Susy came by after work and we had a time, all too soon it was time for them to head home. 

Thursday morning I had an appointment to see my new doctor at the VA.  This was mostly to get my prescriptions updated and meet her.  I left with a good impression of my new doctor, she had me make another appointment for when we are here in December, she wants to do a full blood work-up and a full physical.  She refilled my prescriptions for another year and may change them after she gets the blood test results on our next visit. 

After the VA, we drove over and picked up Katie and made a stop at Costco.  We haven’t been to a Costco for awhile so this proved to be a large cart full of stuff for us.  We also picked up a roasted chicken from there and they also had Dungeness Crab in the seafood area so Lorraine had that for dinner while we had chicken. 

On Friday, we headed over to see Lorraine’s doctor.  She went over some issues with him, made another appointment there too.  She also had her prescriptions refilled for another year.  Once again, after the doctor’s visit we went over to pick up Katie and came back to our coach.  Susy had gone to her dentist that afternoon and had a crown removed and prepped for a new one so she didn’t feel like eating a big meal.  She stopped by and picked up hamburgers from In n Out for our dinner. 

Katie convinced everyone that she HAD to spend the night with Nana.  Of course, she didn’t want to go to bed at normal bedtime, she is an 8 year old after all.  There was one thing after another, stalling for time after it was time for bed.  As it was, she managed to stay up at least two hours past bedtime, good deal the next day wasn’t a school day.  She and Nana sure have a great time together!

Saturday, Katie woke up and had the back TV on even before I got up, she is an early riser even after staying up later than normal.  After I got my shower and walked Misty, she came up to the front and watched TV and we played a couple of games although I guess I don’t play dolls very well according to her. 

After a bit, Mark came by to pick up Katie so they could go to her Girl Scout activity in the afternoon.  Susy came by to pick up Lorraine and they headed out for an afternoon of shopping.  I had been feeling under the weather for the past few days so took advantage to just rest, even took a nap.  We all got together that evening for dinner, we ordered in pizza.

Sunday we headed over to Susy’s place, Lorraine wanted to start wrapping some of the Christmas presents she has been buying across the US this past year.  And she had a pot roast for dinner for all us cooking all day, the smell sure made everyone hungry.  Another good day but we didn’t get a chance (or take the time) to write our blog on Sunday so we are doing it this morning instead. 

The weather while we were in Laughlin was nice and after the rain here it’s been nice too.  We are wearing long pants however, it gets too cool at night and in the mornings for shorts. 

We have been lucky, since we left Red Bay on the 5th, we haven’t actually driven in rain.  We have had it rain on us at least four times when we were parked but we weren’t driving so the coach still looks ok.  When we drive in the rain, the coach gets pretty dirty from the road grime and oils.  Plus it seems some of the drivers lose all their driving skills when it rains so it’s a bit more tiring for us to travel in the rain.   

Our plans are to stay here until after Thanksgiving.  We have reservations at Palm Springs 1000 Trails for two weeks then we will be back here until after Christmas.  We have to nail down our plans for the winter, probably Yuma but we are considering a couple other spots. 

And now to add some pictures, get this posted and get on with our day. 

Alice and Joe on the left, me and Lorraine on the right. 

  

On the road through the desert.

  

  

  

  

Notice the cloudy skies that greeted us when we got closer to Susy’s place. 

 

Can’t believe there was not much traffic, usually this section is heavy with traffic. 

She’s sure happy to see her Nana!

  

Dancing with her dog, Dora. 

  

Playing with her My Little Pony collection.

  

She saved a pumpkin so I could help carve it and they cooked the seeds too. 

  

At Susy’s place for Sunday dinner and wrapping presents. 

 

Katie and Susy in the kitchen after dinner. 

 

That’s all from us for this week.  Hope you had a good week too.

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

 

493

We’re in Laughlin, Nevada

 

November 14, 2013                                                                                                               Lorraine’s report

Howdy folks from us here in Laughlin, NV.  We have been far, very far, and now we are getting quite close to where our daughter lives.  Yea!!!  When we started back from Bar Harbor, Maine, we were 3700 miles away from Sunnyvale, CA.  Feels like a long, long way, and now we are just a short distance away from seeing our granddaughter, Kaitlyn, and her mommy, Susy, our daughter. 

When we left Pennsylvania, the Hershey area, and started back, we weren't sure how long it would take.  We had that stop in Red Bay, Alabama for service and such to our rig.  What a fiasco that was, losing all that oil out of the rig.  Finally, after taking the rig back for the oil leak from the diesel engine, we were able to leave.  We were there 2 weeks and 3 days.

When we left on this trip, we figured we would go through 19 states.  Even though we been full timing for the past 6 years, it was our first time in 9 of those states.  We have now been in 48 of our states with the motor home,  48 states, WOW you say.  Yup, 48, we haven't been to North Dakota and we aren't going to Hawaii in this rig, even though Chuck took us for 3 weeks there in Hawaii one year.   

I loved going through all the different areas, but I don't know which part I like the best.  It was all wonderful.  We live in a big country, and there is still so much to see. 

It was getting time to leave the northeast, and we got out just in time.  A cold front moved in there and in a week or so they had S N O W. I'm so happy that we moved on,  before the really cold, wet snow. 

Since we left Red Bay, AL again, we stopped by and saw Dan & Wanda for a short visit in Oklahoma.  Of course, all their hospitality was incredible.  I loved Wanda's pot roast we had and she also planned leftovers that she sent along with us, it was so great again. Thank you both, and we hope we see you this winter. 

Farther west, we stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas and went to Bill Clinton's Presidential Library.  While it was good, I think I enjoyed President Dwight D. Eisenhower' Library better.  Ike had so much more, more leadership, more working with other people during battle, etc.  We lived in an amazing era. 

One thing I learned was that Bill Clinton was raised by a step father.  He was born a Sykes but was raised by his stepfather and his Mother, who lost her husband when Bill was born. 

Oscar De Le Renta had a show going on on the top floor of his library that had a some of Hillary’s clothes as well as Chelsea’s clothing.  Was fun to see it all. One more thing off our bucket list.  Yea!

Clinton's library was nice, and when we finished it, we went on over to the Outdoor Museum right next door.  There were lots of school age children, about 8 to 10 year olds, so we didn't stick around too long. 

For this trip, once we got through the Clinton museum, we took off ahead of a storm where we heard there was going to be snow.  We kept pushing on through so we wouldn't have the snow getting on us.  We kept it behind us all the way through to here in Laughlin, NV. 

The next day we were off to Amarillo, Texas.  We got there by 4ish, set up and went to dinner at Big Tex's.  It was all decorated for Christmas; my steak was nummy, Chuck's said he's had better steak. 

We were up the next day, heading to Casa Blanco, NM.  They had a casino there and we went over to eat.  The Lucky Eagle Casino was nice, we had a good meal, no free anything for Veteran's Day; but I had a tiny bit of luck.  So far so good, no snow or rain.

From there we took off again, and headed clear through to here, Laughlin, NV.  We hope to stay a week and just rest up.  Joe and Alice came in the day after we arrived, and we are having a nice visit with them.  It was so good to see them! 

This was a hard trip for us, loosing time, then the time change and then the weather.  It sure made for long days for us, and we are still getting used to Nevada time, not East Coast time.  We needed a break, that is why we are resting here in Laughlin, NV.

We have spent time with Joe & Alice, and of course we have had lots of fun visiting and just catching up with them and their family’s happenings.  The grandkids, they just seem to grow and grow…

So that's it for me.  Hope everyone is good.  Take care and we'll see you on down the road. 

Hugs to all,

Lorraine

 

 

11/14/13                                                                                                                                 Chuck’s report

We have slowed down enough, finally, that I thought I would start on our blog for last two weeks.  We haven’t done a heck of a lot but sure have driven a lot of miles in a short amount of time to get here.  So much for taking our time traveling back across the country on our return to the West. 

Last week we wrote and finished our blog on Monday so I’ll start with our activities on Tuesday.  The mechanics finished changing the new front main seal on Monday afternoon but wanted us to drive it for an hour or so the next morning then return so they could check everything out before sending us on our way.  So we got everything put away for traveling and headed out.  We made a stop at Swamp John’s restaurant for breakfast and no Dave/Sandy, we didn’t have chocolate gravy. 

After our test drive, the mechanics gave us a CLEAN bill of health, no sign of an oil leak, yeah!  We headed over to have the coach washed before we left as it still was a mess from all the leaking oil.  The guys did a great job washing it, we may have had it waxed too but we were short of time as we wanted to get on the road.  As it was, we didn’t get going until 2 pm, that’s usually our normal time to get off the road.  We were planning on making a stop along the way but the forecast was for heavy rain overnight and we didn’t want to drive the in it the next day so we kept on going. 

We made it to Little Rock, Arkansas the first night, a long trip for us especially since we didn’t get on the road until late.  It was one of the few times we’ve pulled into a campground and set up after dark.  It wasn’t long after we got set up that the heavy rains started, we figured we made a good decision to get there before the storm.

On Wednesday we had a sort of quiet day as it rained hard most of the day.  Lorraine did some laundry, we drove through Little Rock a bit and making a Wal-Mart run was the highlights of our day.  . 

Thursday morning the rains had stopped so we wanted to do some sightseeing.  We were staying just across the Arkansas River from President Bill Clinton’s Library.  We could get there by walking across an old railroad bridge that was converted to a pedestrian bridge.  But we drove over there instead as we wanted to do more touring later. 

We had been to one other President’s library, Dwight Eisenhower’s in Kansas and really liked it, so much so that we decided to see more whenever we could.  Ike’s library was really interesting, it had lots about his childhood life, his life in the military and of course, about his presidential life.  Bill Clinton didn’t have much of a life except for his political one so there was a small section on his childhood and most of the rest was about when he was governor and president.  The main part of the museum was set up with a panel for each year’s highlight while he was president and a large part was showing all the “gifts” other world leaders gave him and Hillary.  They also had a large exhibit on the third floor with Oscar De Le Renta fashions, mostly fancy dresses. 

Afterwards we found the Arkansas Outdoor Museum and went inside it.  This seem to be set up mostly for children but it was interesting about all the wildlife and such throughout the state.  And it didn’t have an admission charge either, always a good thing when you aren’t sure what is inside. 

Friday morning we got loaded up and ready for travel, this time we were heading to the Tulsa, Oklahoma area to visit with our good friends Dan and Wanda.  We saw them this spring when were were headed East and wanted to stop back on the way back.  We found a Passport America membership park about 30 miles away, got set up and drove over to meet them.  Dan called and suggested we meet them at a school parking lot then follow them back to their home.  We had a good visit and continued it over dinner that evening.  We headed back to our rig after dinner and they headed home with a promise we would meet at their place again the next day. 

After we got back to our place, I checked the weather forecast for the area we were planning on traveling and found there was no rain, and more to the point, no snow, along our planned route for the next three days.  We decided to leave on Sunday instead of spending another day and possibly running into snow in the Flagstaff area, been there, done that before. 

Saturday we drove to their place then headed out for breakfast with them.  Wanda had been busy already, she had a large pot roast on for our dinner later.  After going out for breakfast, Dan drove us to a casino where we played for a couple of hours, Lorraine and I should have stayed home from the luck we had, ha.  But we did have a good visit with them and continued that at their home.  It wasn’t long before Wanda was putting out the roast and such for dinner, there was plenty and lots left over too.  We even had homemade apple pie and ice cream after, yum. 

But all to soon we had to head back to our place, I didn’t want to drive through the country in the dark because of all the deer, luckily we didn’t see (or hit) any on the way home.  Thanks to Dan and Wanda for spending time with us once again, we really enjoyed it and hopefully you head West this winter and we can meet up once again.  And as we were leaving, Wanda had a big take out full of pot roast for us to take with us, we ate it a couple of nights later after a long travel day and it was sure appreciated and enjoyed. 

Sunday morning we got set up for another day of travel, this time we were planning on making it to Amarillo, Texas.  We stopped here on the way East and had a good steak at the Big Texan and wanted to do that again.  This is the place that has a 72 oz. steak with shrimp cocktail, salad, potato and if you can eat it all in under an hour, it is free.  They have an average of one or two folks attempt this feat everyday, we sure didn’t try.  

That night the temperature started dropping a bit, just as forecasted and when we woke up the next morning there was a heavy fog.  We were glad it cleared up by the time we were ready to travel, the fog was too heavy for me to feel comfortable driving for sure.  So Monday was another travel day, this time we made it to past Albuquerque, we stopped at a casino in Casa Blanca, the Dancing Eagle.  The cost for full hookups with 50 amp electric was only $10/night if you got their player’s card so that’s what we did.  Lorraine had a good run of luck there and they had their senior menu where everything on that menu was $4.99 or less so we had a good meal too. 

Tuesday morning we headed out once again, this time we were going to stop at Williams, New Mexico.  But as we were traveling, we listened to the radio for the forecast and they were talking possible snow on Wednesday.  We quickly made the decision to continue West until we got out of the mountains.  We knew there was a 12 mile, 6% downhill run just after Williams that would get us out of the higher elevations. 

But after we got that far, we decided to continue on a bit more, it was only about 2 1/2 hours to Laughlin and we were gaining another hour due to time getting to the Pacific time zone.  Lorraine called the park and made a reservation for our normal site, on the top tier right on the edge overlooking the town and river.  It is really nice especially at night when all the casinos have their lights on. 

We had originally planned on getting to Laughlin on Friday and here it was Tuesday, we made lots of miles in the past three days, once again very unusual for us but we didn’t want to get caught in the possible bad weather that was forecasted.  I did hear that the temperature in Red Bay dropped below freezing and they even turned off the water to the camp sites due to the cold.  Oklahoma dropped to below freezing two days after we left and there was a bit of snow around the Flagstaff area the night after we left so we were glad we pushed on in three days vs a possible 5 or more as originally planned.  We hope to not see freezing weather again until possibly during our Quartzsite stay in January. 

Wednesday Lorraine started some laundry and then we made a trip to Wal-Mart to get some supplies.  While we were there, our friends Joe and Alice from Washington called to let us know they were in town.  These are the folks who rented us their extra lot back in Blaine when we were there and we’ve managed to spend some time with them almost every winter since we’ve been on the road.   We didn’t even go home to put stuff away, instead we drove straight to their place and had a short visit with them.  Later we picked them up and we headed out for dinner, the gals had decided on a buffet at one of the local casinos.  Joe and Alice will be here a week also, we leave the day before they do so we will spend more time with them over the next 5 or 6 days. 

Thursday Lorraine wanted to wash/dry our throw rugs and seeing as how Joe and Alice were already at a laundromat we loaded up and headed over there.  They had good machines and it wasn’t too long before we were headed back to our rig with clean throw rugs.  Later that afternoon we went to the Black Bear Diner with Joe and Alice for dinner then stopped by one of the casinos for some slot activity. 

We had a rock chip the front windshield on the rig while driving through New Mexico.  I called our insurance company and they contacted a local glass company to come to us to repair the crack.  A few minutes later, we got a call, they were cancelling the appointment, seems they had “tech” problems.  I don’t know, maybe they fired someone but whatever, we didn’t get our chip repaired. 

I called the insurance company with that news and they called a different glass company, they also cancelled.  I think I was on the phone for more than 10 calls before we finally got someone willing to travel to our site and repair the chip.  At least it didn’t cost us anything except for time and aggravation but it is done and looks better than the other chips we’ve had repaired in the past.   At least we didn’t have to change out the whole windshield, we carry a high deductible and would have had to pay our portion. 

It was Friday morning that the glass guy came and after Lorraine had a hair appointment; she took off and left me at the coach.  I managed to find enough “stuff” to keep me busy, the biggest job I finished was to touch up all the woodwork as needed with stain I had bought when we were in Red Bay. 

Later we picked up Joe and Alice and went down to the river to walk the river walk.  It was a real nice day, temperatures in the low 80s with a slight breeze, very nice.  We spent a couple of hours enjoying the day/afternoon before we went into one of the casinos for some slot play and dinner.  Another nice day spent in the company of our good friends!

Saturday morning I called Joe to let him know of our plans to head over to a casino that had 2 for 1 buffet for an early dinner.  We also wanted to return to the new RV subdivision we had visited this spring when we were headed East.  We like this place and think it will be a success for those who purchase lots/houses here but we just aren’t ready yet and are not sure this is THE place either. 

After touring the subdivision, we drove over to AVI for some slot play and dinner.  We got there around 2 and the buffet started at 3 but there was already over 100 people in line.  Joe finally saved a spot in line for us but there must have been 250 in front of him by that time, this was a popular buffet I guess.  It was steak and crab with all the normal buffet foods.  With the large number of folks inline, there was also large lines waiting in the food lines.  There were a couple of folks who thought they didn’t have to wait in line like the rest of the common folks and it almost came to fist fight.  But the food was good, the company better and  Lorraine and Alice both won some on the slots.

After we got back to our rig, we watched the Stanford/USC football game, unfortunately Stanford lost, they had too many bad play they just couldn’t overcome.  Too bad as they were headed towards a possible good bowl game after the season.  

Let’s see, the weather this past 2 weeks has really been a mixed bag.  The temperature in Red Bay was nice, in the mid 70s with nighttime lows getting to the low 40s and twice down to the high 30s.  The night we left Red Bay and got to Little Rock it started raining and rained most of the next day.  But on Thursday and Friday  in Oklahoma we once again had good weather but needed to run the heater at night, it got down to the upper 30s.  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday was pretty much a blur for us, we got on the road early and stopped late.  But we didn’t get any more rain and didn’t experience any freezing temperatures either.  Once we dropped down from Williams, NM. we started seeing the temperature rise, it was in the low 80s when we got here to Laughlin on Tuesday.  That night the low temperature was only about 65, nice.  That’s been pretty much the same for the rest of the week, maybe a few degrees cooler but very nice.  Lorraine did have me turn on the heat last night, she says she just can’t take any cold weather anymore.  Sure a good thing I didn’t take a job back in Washington this winter, huh? The forecast is for a couple of days with cooler temperatures but nothing that requires me to wear long pants, I hope. 

Our travel plans are pretty basic, we will stay here until Tuesday then head to California, getting there after one night on the road, probably in Bakersfield. 

Whew, we’ve sure had some unusually long driving days and a couple of times more than two in a row since we left Bar Harbor, Maine.  We spent three weeks in Red Bay, most of the other days have been travel days or resting/visiting days.  We are both liking the fact we are staying put for a week and don’t have any early morning activities. 

But one problem with traveling from Alabama to Nevada is we gained three time zone hours plus the end of daylight savings time.  So we both find ourselves waking up earlier than we would like and getting tired before the clock says it’s bedtime.  Misty is really having a hard time, she knows when she’s hungry and when she needs to go outside but doesn’t understand why are on a different schedule. 

Now to go through the pictures Lorraine took over the past 2 weeks and pick out which ones to add here.  I know there will be some scenery pictures even though the area we traveled wasn’t the most scenic on our trip.  We find most everyplace has something interesting to see/do and we like the desert and the mountains and even the “barren” part of West Texas. 

 

Swamp John restaurant on the left for those who have been to Red Bay and miss it. 

  

A clean coach, all the oil cleaned off too.  The guys did a good job. 

  

On the road, going through Tennessee. 

 

Now we’re going through Arkansas.

 

  

That’s some of the bugs we hit on the windshield on the right.  I try to wash them off every stop. 

 

 

Coming into Little Rock, Arkansas.  An old railroad bridge that’s now a pedestrian bridge to the Clinton Library. 

 

  

That’s the Clinton Library, some have compared it to a double wide trailer.  Hillary was not happy about that, we heard. 

  

A look back at the RV park where we were staying. 

  

Some of the writing on the bridge and a list of sponsors for the library.   

    

Clinton’s presidential car and the Cabinet Room.

  

The Oval Office.

 

  

Some of the campaign buttons for Clinton/Gore on the right. 

  

The timeline displays and some of the president’s saxophones. 

 

A table setting from the White House. 

  

Oscar De La Renta dresses on display inside the Clinton Library.  Lorraine liked this part; me, not so much. 

   

  

  

  

Some of the buildings in Little Rock. 

  

  

The Capital Building. 

  

  

Now we’re in Oklahoma.  We stayed at the Onapa RV park. 

  

The only picture we had of Wanda and Dan. 

  

Oklahoma City. 

  

We can’t figure out this display, looks like a tower blown over in a tornado to me. 

  

Speaking of tornados, that’s what caused the destruction on the left.

 

Now we are traveling though Texas. 

  

  

  

We went to The Big Texan for dinner.  Some of the chairs they have inside. 

  

The 72 ounce steak dinner, if you can eat it all (shrimp cocktail, bread, potato and steak) in one hour it’s free.  

  

Lorraine’s steak on the left, mine on the right.  We both brought home leftovers for later. 

  

Not a lot in West Texas.

 

A cattle feed lot with lots of cattle. 

   

  

We made it to New Mexico. 

  

  

Can’t read the Indian smoke signals on the left. 

  

  

More wide open spaces. 

  

Some long horn cattle. 

  

A cotton field in New Mexico. 

  

More wide open spaces. 

  

 

 

Traveling through Albuquerque. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Yep, we’re in Arizona. 

  

  

 

 

Two dinosaurs trying to cross the road. 

   

 

 

 

Pine trees in the upper elevations, near Williams here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lorraine took some sunset pictures on the hills in the distance from our campsite here in Laughlin. 

 

Ok, now to get this posted. 

 

Thanks   Chuck

 

 

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